Reversible ratchet wrenches are utilized to selectively apply torque in either direction to tighten or loosen a nut or a bolt head. A head of the wrench conventionally includes a driving tang that is connected to a socket which engages the nut or bolt head. Application of a force to a handle of the wrench pivots the head to rotatively drive the socket in one direction, while application of a force in the opposite direction produces a ratcheting that permits the torquing to be performed in a stroking manner without disengagement of the socket from the nut or bolt head.
Conventional reversible ratchet wrenches include a rotatable driver on which a driving tang is provided to drive the socket. A pawl mounted on the head engages teeth of the driver to prevent rotation of the driver in one direction while permitting rotation thereof in the other direction by a ratcheting operation. Conventionally, the driver and the pawl include teeth that are located between spaced portions of the wrench head such that the teeth do not extend to one or the other oppositely facing surfaces of the head. It is to provide the teeth with greater lengths in order to increase the torque which can be applied through the pawl and driver teeth, but such an increase is limited by the fact that the head cannot be made too large or it will not be able to fit into confined locations.
One type of conventional ratchet wrench has overlapping driver and pawl openings in the head. The pawl is usually of a multiple piece construction and is retained at one end by a pawl skirt and at the other end by a retaining ring located in an annular recess in the pawl opening. The driver is retained by a driver skirt at one end and by a retaining ring, located in an annular recess in the driver opening, on the other end. However, other ratchet wrenches of this type have employed retaining plates, located in retaining plate recesses in the head, to retain both the driver and pawl within the wrench head. This construction prohibits the ratchet teeth from extending to either the upper or lower surfaces of the wrench head and adds significant weight and thickness to the wrench head and requires complex and relatively expensive machining operations.
Other ratchet wrenches of this type have included overlapping cylindrical driver and pawl openings which extend the full thickness of the wrench head. Although this type of construction allows for a relatively thin head, it has demonstrated: a distinct lack of rotational support for both the pawl and driver, causing excessive play in the relationship between the components allowing for a misalignment between the driver and pawl in high torque applications; poor results in drop and has a significant susceptibility to dirt and grease, all of which adversely effect both performance and durability.
Other types of reversible ratchet wrenches have a pawl which is mounted on the driver by a pin for pivotal movement to provide the selective engagement with teeth located in the driver opening of the head to provide locking thereof against rotation in one direction and ratcheting thereof in the other direction. However, such pawls have also previously been slidably mounted on the head by a slideway such that rectilinear pawl movement reverses the directions in which the locking and ratcheting take place.
Conventional reversible ratchet wrenches are usually somewhat complex and require a head having a counterbored opening with annular recesses for securing a retaining ring in order to receive and rotatably support the driver with the driving tang thereof projecting outwardly from the head. Such counterbored and recessed openings with annular recesses increase the thickness of the wrench head and are relatively expensive to machine and thus add to the cost of the wrench.
Reversible ratchet wrenches of the type discussed above and other similar wrenches are disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos.: 376,584; 1,138,276; 1,140,167; 1,147,476; 1,854,513; 1,868,839; 1,957,462: 2,542,241; 2,658,416; 2,680,983; 2,686,446: 2,701,977: 2,720,127; 2,725,722; 2,891,434: 2,943,523; 2,982,169; 2,957,377; 2,978,081; 3,096,659; 3,140,625; 3,145,594; 3,233,481; 3,299,725; 3,369,416; 3,448,641; 3,724,298; 3,754,486; 3,967,514; 4,147,076; 4,274,311; 4,277,990; 4,300,413; 4,308,769; 4,324,158; 4,328,720; 4,336,728; and RE 23,661; and by French Pat. No. 1,029,033.